Cafe International

Address: 2361 North High Street
Phone: (614)412-2323

If you had ever wanted to give Ethiopian food a try, chances are you had stopped by The Blue Nile. A fun dining experience that left a bit to be desired on the decor. Alas, they shut their doors several months ago. In it's place sprung up Cafe International.

A quiet restaurant on the edge of campus, Cafe International is a complete turn around; with few menu exceptions, the two are nothing alike. The initial photos online are also very misleading, There is most certainly no cooler behind the bar, instead you find shiny new equipment for making coffee and tea, as well as plenty of booze.

I went during prime dinner time, 6:00 on a Saturday night, and received no wait. In fact it seems that this gem has yet to be discovered by the general public. We sat at a high, slightly uncomfortable table, where we browsed a laminated menu with several blacked out items. These were an eyesore and disappointment for Brandon and I.

Being the lushes we are, Our appetizer course consisted of cocktails. A heavy-on-the-mango Paradise Shooter for Brandon, and I had an English Garden crisp, sweet, and very pineapple forward. As we sipped our cocktails, we ordered a large array of small plates for the rest of the meal. We picked a spattering of options from across the board.

The first plate to arrive on the table was minchetabesh, a spiced Ethiopian chili served with sour Injera. Mild in heat, and rich in flavor, the meaty concoction was perfect for being scooped up by hand with the lightly rolled bread. Following our chili came our shrimp and pork dumplings. Small and well seasoned dumplings cook just through was tasty enough, but not as textually sound as expected. Large chunks of shrimp became springy against the rest of the filling. Okonomiyaki fries were next: simple fries with Asian barbecue sauce and mayonnaise were topped with seaweed and fish flakes. The fries were tasty, but would have been better with additional toppings. Half of the plate was undressed. Two very large Sambusa pockets were next. Crispy potato and pea dumplings the size of a small baby's hand! One dumpling would have been enough for the two of us. The huge dumpling was seasoned well but needed a stronger dipping sauce.

The Chives Cake were clearly the star of our meal, though. Perfectly triangular green bites were mild, crisp and perfect for dipping. Though the sauce was their usual soy dipping sauce, the slightly sweet and spicy combination really brought the bites alive.

As quick as our tiny table was filled, the plates left. Pots of tea were had to finish off the meal. The pots both did not arrive at the table steeped, but a few moments later we were sipping away. The Genmai option was highly suggested, and was quite worth the gamble. Slightly nutty delicate green tea was a perfect way to end the meal.

I urge you to try out Cafe International before the word gets out, although you may want to stick away from the Sambusa. If you can barter extra dressing on the fries, I highly recommend you adding them to your nightly selection- just be sure to get the chives cake!

Keep Eating,
JTFussy